Chip Kidd, Associate Art Director at Knopf Books, Peter Mendelsund, Art Director for Pantheon Press, and Stephen Doyle, Creative Director, Doyle Partners; Design Contributor, New York Times and Wired, discuss whether cutting edge visual design can save the print industry. The talk is moderated by Darhil Crooks, Creative Director for the Atlantic, and way down below is the video-taped footage of the event.

Date: Tuesday, May 7th, 2013
Location: New York Historical Society, NYC

The first Speaker is Chip Kidd and he starts out talking a little bit about working with Neil Gaiman on Neil’s new book, MAKE GOOD ART : Neil Gaiman’s Speech Book. Which, by the way, is coming out on Wednesday, May 15th. Yes, that’s tomorrow! Very quickly, Chip Kidd gives a preview of what the book will look like, discusses some of the design ideas and concepts, and then (in a very sneaky way) he shamelessly plugs his own book that is coming out in October of 2013. We’re talking about his “Teaching Graphic Art to Kids” Book which is titled, “GO! A KIDD’S GUIDE TO GRAPHIC DESIGN“.

Then, next-up is Peter Mendelsund who quickly shares an amazing assortment of some of his work. Like Chip, he mainly designs book covers. But his graphic art has an interesting twist. He designs jackets for new books that are expected to be bestsellers AND he creates new covers for old classics, what they call the “back list”, and it’s all really great stuff like: Franz Kafka, Dante, Plato, Simone De Beauyoir, James Joyce, etc…

Peter also makes a shameless plug for his brand-new Design Book coming out in the Spring of 2014 titled, “COVER” by Peter Mendelsund. It looks pretty cool!

Then, the last guest (last, but NOT least) is Stephen Doyle who shares an amazing art-concept movie he created called CIPHER. This was a project he worked on with some Students and the end result is pretty interesting. He also discusses recent trends in publishing & print media.

Design for change. Design for good. Design for a better world.

These are the premises that fuel DESIGN INDABA. Their goal is for a better world through design, creativity and innovation.

Chip Kidd spoke at their 2011 event and while in Barcelona he stumbled across a caf decorated with book covers that he had designed. He found this both strange… and rather great!

Cartoonist and MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellowship winner Ben Katchor was recently interviewed by Gil Roth in a episode of “The Virtual Memories Show” Podcast. The main focus was Ben Katchor’s brand-new graphic novel recently published by Pantheon Books in 2013 titled, HAND-DRYING IN AMERICA AND OTHER STORIES, which collects his monthly comic page from Metropolis magazine. During this special episode, Ben even “performs” several of his comics. Plus, he gives us all some really great insight into his creative process. Also, as a side-note, we should mention that this book cover was designed by Chip Kidd.

We have embedded the podcast down below, but for even MORE information we suggest a visit to VIRTUAL MEMORIES.

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Ben Katchor
Hand Drying in America and Other Stories
Pantheon Books / Random House
ISBN 978-0-307-90690-8
160 Pages

MAY 9th, 2013 | NEW YORK CITY
MANHATTAN PENTHOUSE
“An Evening with Chip Kidd” by Chip Kidd ’86, associate art director for Alfred A. Knopf
Co-sponsored by the Penn State College of Arts & Architecture

Enter the world of renowned author, editor, and graphic designer Chip Kidd '86, called by USA Today "the closest thing to a rock star" in graphic design. The Manhattan Penthouse, a stately loft overlooking the heights of New York City, will furnish the perfect backdrop for an elegant and exclusive evening, as Kidd shares an insider's look at highlights of his design career spanning over a quarter century and counting. In his signature charismatic style, Kidd will also regale attendees with special previews of future projects. In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with fellow Penn Staters during a cocktail reception and a three-course seated dinner, as the city lights gleam through the Penthouse's stunning glass views.

Chip Kidd is an American author, editor, and graphic designer, best known for his innovative book covers, including notably the iconic T-Rex image he designed for Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. Kidd is currently associate art director at Knopf, an imprint of Random House. Publishers Weekly has described his book jackets as “creepy, striking, sly, smart, unpredictable covers that make readers appreciate books as objects of art as well as literature." Kidd's TED talk of 2012 has garnered over 600,000 views to date. He was a 2004 Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Fellow Award recipient.

Thursday, May 9, 2013
6:30 PM – 10:00 PM

Manhattan Penthouse on 5th Avenue
80 5th Avenue
New York City, New York 10011
212.627.8838

$35 Alumni Association members
$50 non-members

All registrants must be at least 21 years old, as alcohol will be served. Business attire is suggested.

SCHEDULE:

For further information please CLICK HERE!

Here’s some really great Publishing News! Over at the NPR BOOKS website they recently did a very excellent Book Review for Brian Kimberling’s debut novel, SNAPPER. The article was written by Petra Mayer and we could not be happier with the way she really understands the people in this story. The book’s main focus is very character driven & her insight is smart & clever. So, please check it out very soon, here’s a LINK!

Oh yeah, this book was just recently released by Pantheon, a division of Random House.

Pantheon Books (Random House) has just released some Book Signing Dates for SNAPPER by the Author Brian Kimbering! So, please check the list down below, and if you live near by, then be sure to get your copy autographed by the author! Remember: Signed First Editions, especially that of a debut novel, are always worth WAY more! Plus, it’s always fun to meet a favorite Writer.

For further information about new events arriving, please CLICK HERE!

Hey Everybody!! Here’s a quick post to inform you that we have just added a ton of new photos of Chip Kidd’s “Book Cover Design” work over at the GALLERY PAGE. Actually, some of them were also even added to Page Two. About half of them are ones he just completed for brand-new books coming out in 2013 and then there are a few he designed awhile back. Sort of like, “something old, something new”. Anyways, Please feel free to check them out and we hope you enjoy them. Please remember to always check back because we’re obsessed with adding more all the time, ha!

You can just click the Gallery TAB up above or please CLICK HERE!

Also, please remember to share this website with all your friends and family on your favorite social network website ( Like: Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, etc…) Thanks!

Pantheon Books, the company that publishes the greatest Graphic Novels in the world, will be at the 2013 MoCCA ARTS FESTIVAL on April 6th and 7th at the 69th Regiment Armory in New York City, NY. For more info: CLICK HERE!

Ben Katchor will be there signing his new book “Hand-Drying in America” (Chip Kidd designed this cover!) on Saturday at 3:00 p.m., and David Mazzucchelli will be there at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday to sign copies of his incredible book, “Asterios Polyp”. Hope to see you there!! As a side note: Chip Kidd will not be at this event.

This is exciting news! Well, it’s fun news for all of us here at CHIPKIDD.COM anyway, ha! Yesterday we added a nice new selection of BOOK COVER DESIGN photos to our Gallery Page. This brings the total to about 146 designs & we have many more to go! So, please be sure to check back every now and then. Also, I bet you yourself even own a book or two that Chip Kidd has designed. Go take a look! Please CLICK HERE!

In a recent article posted here at CHIPKIDD.COM we did a story about how the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is raising awareness of an issue of Censorship that is happening, right now, in Chicago. The book we’re talking about is a Graphic Novel drawn and written by Marjane Satrapi titled, THE COMPLETE PERSEPOLIS (Pantheon Books). It’s a beautiful coming of age story about a young girl growing up in in Tehran during the Islamic Revolution. The book is edgy, searingly observant, and candid, often heartbreaking. You might recall the title of this book because it has also been made into a wonderful animated movie.

If you missed that article, then please CLICK HERE!

Anyway, here are some recent MEMES that people have created to show support for the book. Please feel free to use them in whatever social media context you want. Yes, we’re talking about sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. Thanks!! Also, we ask that you use the hashtag, #FreePersepolis